The Plight of Georgia: Russian Occupation and the Energy Charter Treaty

After the Five-Day Russo-Georgian War, Russia usurped Georgian separatist territories, including a stretch of the Baku-Supsa Pipeline which provides gas to Europe. The continued occupation by Russia endangers Georgian sovereignty, natural resources, and economic security and puts Europe’s gas security at risk. The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), through provisional application, provides a unique opportunity to assist Georgia’s battle for territorial integrity. This Note will examine the ECT’s ability to provide a pathway for Georgian economic and energy security by holding Russia accountable for violations of the ECT and removing Russia’s stronghold on the region

Predicting the labelling of a graph via minimum p-seminorm interpolation

We study the problem of predicting the labelling of a graph. The graph is given and a trial sequence of (vertex,label) pairs is then incrementally revealed to the learner. On each trial a vertex is queried and the learner predicts a boolean label. The true label is then returned. The learner’s goal is to minimise mistaken predictions. We propose minimum p-seminorm interpolation to solve this problem. To this end we give a p-seminorm on the space of graph labellings. Thus on every trial we predict using the labelling which minimises the p-seminorm and is also consistent with the revealed (vertex, label) pairs. When p = 2 this is the harmonic energy minimisation procedure of [22], also called (Laplacian) interpolated regularisation in [1]. In the limit as p → 1 this is equivalent to predicting with a label-consistent mincut. We give mistake bounds relative to a label-consistent mincut and a resistive cover of the graph. We say an edge is cut with respect to a labelling if the connected vertices have disagreeing labels. We find that minimising the p-seminorm with p = 1 + ɛ where ɛ → 0 as the graph diameter D → ∞ gives a bound of O(Φ 2 log D) versus a bound of O(ΦD) when p = 2 where Φ is the number of cut edges.

Developing interventions to address sexuality after stroke: Findings from a four-panel modified delphi study

© 2019 Foundation of Rehabilitation Information. Background: Although stroke has a profound impact on sexuality there are limited evidence-based interventions to support rehabilitation professionals in this area. The aim of the current research was to prioritize content areas and approaches to sexual rehabilitation from the perspective of stroke survivors, their partners, stroke rehabilitation clinicians and researchers. Methods: A 2-step online Delphi method was used to prioritize the content of, and approaches to, sexual rehabilitation with stroke survivors, their partners, stroke rehabilitation clinicians and researchers. Results: Stroke survivors (n=30), their partners (n=18), clinicians and researchers in stroke rehabilitation (n=45) completed at least 1 of 2 investigator-developed surveys. Participants prioritized 18 core content areas for inclusion in sexual rehabilitation following stroke with a high degree of consensus. Another 27 content areas were considered moderately important. There was strong consensus that sexual rehabilitation should be offered in the subacute and chronic phases of stroke recovery. Participants would prefer health professionals to deliver the intervention face-to-face. Conclusion: This study presents opinions from stroke survivors, partners of stroke survivors, clinicians and researchers. The information about content, timing and mode of delivery will be used to develop and evaluate a comprehensive sexuality rehabilitation programme

Reactive and Proactive Interference Control in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder Across the Lifespan

As a large heterogeneity is observed across studies on interference control in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research may benefit from the use of a cognitive framework that models specific processes underlying reactive and proactive control of interference. Reactive control refers to the expression and suppression of responses and proactive control refers to the adjustment of response to previous situations. We administered a Simon conflict task in 2 independent adult samples (IQ >80) and applied distributional analyses to examine temporal dynamics of interference control in ASD. Along comparable interference effects in both reactive and proactive control, young men (n = 23, 18-36 years) diagnosed with ASD made as many fast errors on conflict trials as neurotypical controls (n = 19) and showed similar suppression on slow responses (Study 1). However, over the adult life span (19-79 years), individuals with ASD (n = 118) made fewer fast errors on conflict trials, and had overall slower and more accurate responses than controls (n = 160; Study 2). These results converge to the idea that individuals with ASD adopt a more cautious response bias over the adult life span, which is not yet observed among young adults. Our findings suggest that it is fruitful to distinguish different processes involved in interference control and contribute to an increased understanding of interference control mechanisms in adults with ASD

Darwin's small and medium ground finches might have taste preferences, but not for human foods

Urbanization is rapidly changing ecological niches. On the inhabited Galapagos Islands, Darwin's finches consume human-introduced foods preferentially; however, it remains unclear why. Here, we presented pastry with flavour profiles typical of human foods (oily, salty and sweet) to small ground finches (Geospiza fuliginosa) and medium ground finches (Geospiza fortis) to test if latent taste preferences might drive the selection of human foods. If human food flavours were consumed more than a neutral or bitter control only at sites with human foods, then we predicted tastes were acquired after urbanization; however, if no site differences were found then this would indicate latent taste preferences. Contrary to both predictions, we found little evidence that human food flavours were preferred compared with control flavours at any site. Instead, finches showed a weak aversion to oily foods, but only at remote (no human foods present) sites. This was further supported by behavioural responses, with beak-wiping occurring more often at remote sites after finches tasted flavours associated with human foods. Our results suggest, therefore, that while Darwin's finches regularly exposed to human foods might have acquired a tolerance to human food flavours, latent taste preferences are unlikely to have played a major role in their dietary response to increased urbanization.Peer reviewe

A High-Resolution Combined Scanning Laser- and Widefield Polarizing Microscope for Imaging at Temperatures from 4 K to 300 K

Polarized light microscopy, as a contrast-enhancing technique for optically anisotropic materials, is a method well suited for the investigation of a wide variety of effects in solid-state physics, as for example birefringence in crystals or the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). We present a microscopy setup that combines a widefield microscope and a confocal scanning laser microscope with polarization-sensitive detectors. By using a high numerical aperture objective, a spatial resolution of about 240 nm at a wavelength of 405 nm is achieved. The sample is mounted on a $^4$He continuous flow cryostat providing a temperature range between 4 K and 300 K, and electromagnets are used to apply magnetic fields of up to 800 mT with variable in-plane orientation and 20 mT with out-of-plane orientation. Typical applications of the polarizing microscope are the imaging of the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization via the longitudinal and polar MOKE, imaging of magnetic flux structures in superconductors covered with a magneto-optical indicator film via Faraday effect or imaging of structural features, such as twin-walls in tetragonal SrTiO$_3$. The scanning laser microscope furthermore offers the possibility to gain local information on electric transport properties of a sample by detecting the beam-induced voltage change across a current-biased sample. This combination of magnetic, structural and electric imaging capabilities makes the microscope a viable tool for research in the fields of oxide electronics, spintronics, magnetism and superconductivity.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures. The following article has been accepted by Review of Scientific Instruments. After it is published, it will be found at http://aip.scitation.org/journal/rs

Exercise Beliefs and Behaviours of Individuals with Joint Hypermobility Syndrome/ Ehlers Danlos Syndrome-Hypermobility Type

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Disability & Rehabilitation on 10 November 2017, available online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2017.1398278. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupPurpose: To explore exercise beliefs and behaviours of individuals with Joint Hypermobility syndrome/Ehlers–Danlos syndrome – hypermobility type and to explore patient experiences of physiotherapy.Methods: A cross sectional questionnaire survey design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from adult members of the Hypermobility Syndromes Association and Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome Support UK. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Qualitative data was analysed thematically.Results: 946 questionnaires were returned and analysed. Participants who received exercise advice from a physiotherapist were 1.75 more likely to report high volumes of weekly exercise (odds ratio [OR] = 1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.30–2.36, p < 0.001) than those with no advice. Participants who believed that exercise is important for long-term management were 2.76 times more likely to report a high volume of weekly exercise compared to the participants who did not hold this belief (OR = 2.76, 95% CI = 1.38–5.50, p = 0.004). Three themes emerged regarding experience of physiotherapy; physiotherapist as a partner, communication – knowledge, experience and safety.Conclusion: Pain, fatigue and fear are common barriers to exercise. Advice from a physiotherapist and beliefs about the benefits of exercise influenced the reported exercise behaviours of individuals with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome – hypermobility type in this survey.Peer reviewe

Proton-irradiation-induced intermixing of InGaAs quantum dots

Proton irradiation was used to create interdiffusion in In₀.₅Ga₀.₅Asquantum dots(QDs), grown by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. After 25-keV proton irradiation, the QD samples were annealed at two temperatures (700 or 750 °C) for 30 s. It was found that much lower annealing temperatures were needed to recover the photoluminescence signals than in the quantum-well case. Large blueshifts (120 meV) and narrowing of the photoluminescence spectra were seen. Various doses (5×10¹³–1×10¹⁵ cm⁻²) and implant temperatures (20–200 °C) were used to study the interdiffusion processes in these samples. In QD samples, much lower doses were required to achieve similar energy shifts than reported in quantum-well samples

Topical delivery of hexamidine

Hexamidine diisethionate (HEX D) has been used for its biocidal actions in topical preparations since the 1950s. Recent data also suggest that it plays a beneficial role in skin homeostasis. To date, the extent to which this compound penetrates the epidermis has not been reported nor how its topical delivery may be modulated. In the present work we set out to characterise the interaction of HEX D with the skin and to develop a range of simple formulations for topical targeting of the active. A further objective was to compare the skin penetration of HEX D with its corresponding dihydrochloride salt (HEX H) as the latter has more favourable physicochemical properties for skin uptake. Candidate vehicles were evaluated by in vitro Franz cell permeation studies using porcine skin. Initially, neat solvents were investigated and subsequently binary systems were examined. The solvents and chemical penetration enhancers investigated included glycerol, dimethyl isosorbide (DMI), isopropyl alcohol (IPA), 1,2-pentanol (1,2-PENT), polyethylene glycol (PEG) 200, propylene glycol (PG), propylene glycol monolaurate (PGML) and Transcutol®P (TC). Of a total of 30 binary solvent systems evaluated only 10 delivered higher amounts of active into the skin compared with the neat solvents. In terms of topical efficacy, formulations containing PGML far surpassed all other solvents or binary combinations. More than 70% of HEX H was extracted from the skin following application in PG:PGML (50:50). Interestingly, the same vehicle effectively promoted skin penetration of HEX D but demonstrated significantly lower uptake into and through the skin (30%). The findings confirm the unpredictable nature of excipients on delivery of actives with reference to skin even where there are minor differences in molecular structures. We also believe that they underline the ongoing necessity for fundamental studies on the interaction of topical excipients with the skin